Icing on the Cake

Evelyn's hair is getting long! I finally noticed it was long enough for a little topside pony. She did not enjoy getting her hair brushed up, it did look pretty cute! Sunday is a hard day since she misses her morning nap. I started to take photos for Evelyn's 12 mth celebration around sunset. I dressed her in the knot dress I sewed up last week. It looked adorable. She was so excited about standing up next to a cute chair. She tries so hard to pull herself up on the furniture now.  I remember it was super duper humid. Evelyn folds her little arms for family prayer, she is by far the most reverent of the kids. I noticed by Thursday that her second bottom tooth is almost through. No wonder she refused to nap most of Friday. Sunday at church I was released as the Webelos leader. I finally jumped through all the hoops, getting certified, trained, and investing in a shirt and all the necessary patches. Darn it! I was getting into the groove and sending those little guys through the program. My new calling is 2nd counselor in the YW program. I am over the Beehives, looks like there are 4 beehives, one is less active.

Monday morning was a swirl of excitement as school started for Amelia and Phillip. Phillip slept in until 9:30, an unheard of feat. He likes afternoon preschool much better than 8 am school. Several of Amelia's teachers told her she looked like Matilda. She chose a cold lunch for her first day. She loves to check out the calendar and pick out hot lunch days. She had outfits chosen for the first 4 days of school! Her bus seems to take much longer this year. Last year she got home around 3:20, this year she is getting home around 3:45. I might just pick her up, except I have to get Phillip at 3:30. Evelyn usually goes down for her nap right at 3 so logistics are a bit difficult to juggle. Justin will take Phillip to school most days on his way back from lunch. Our house was quiet with just me and my two E's (Everett and Evelyn). Monday I spent most of the time putting away clean laundry. Everett wanted to play Power Rangers with me for the duration. The game consisted of him getting all the cool weapons and masks. I was an evil Nylok, and had to spend my time repeating his commands and basking in the Zanzu river. He was happy to get his Phillip back, he is a much better copy cat than I am. I got party invites handed out for Phillip's super cape party next Tuesday.

Punkle Jared drove all the way to our home from SLC, UT for a sleepover. At least that is what Phillip thought. Jared stopped over for the night on his way to Southern Virginia University. The kids attacked the poor guy and kept him busy until they went to bed. He flopped on our couch and asked if they are always like that! He understands why I always feel so tired. Jared left early the next morning after more morning wrestling with my kids. I am excited for his new journey in life. My Dad left for Saudi Arabia for a year on Tuesday morning. For the first time my mom is alone with no kids at home, first time in 38 years. Strange thought. Amelia went with me to the community flower garden Tuesday night. I wanted to take some photos of Evelyn in the same places I did last year to compare how much she's grown. Amelia loved exploring the little paths and collecting flowers. We discovered she is highly allergic to wild flowers. Her eyes were red and swollen by the time we got home. Evelyn was being so cute. I think she liked being naked outside. A large lightening storm rolled over as I finished up. I got some amazing shots of the storm. Reminded me of the time we lived in Tuscon, AZ.

Phillip head butted me right on the cheek bone while helping him into his shorts. I am so lucky he did not get my eye. My cheek bone is ever so sore and his hard head caused a 4 day migraine. I am ashamed to say that I slapped his head a couple times while howling in pain. That was not my best mommy moment. We cried for a while then started laughing over some silly that Everett did.  We fed the Elders dinner twice this week.

Thursday I had a photo shoot with a family I've taken care of for 2 years now.  They brought along a cool old church pew for the occasion. I took Phillip and Evelyn along with me for more birthday photos. Phillip got to wear the birthday shirt I made him and an outfit I liked. I got 5 cactus needles stuck on my foot during the time. I also finished sewing up two onesies for new babies that needed some cuteness.

Friday morning I had another photo session. I planned on doing outdoor sessions since it is so much easier. The weather rebelled so I was forced to do studio photos. It rained all day. After school I wanted to get the kids outside to play. They donned rain gear and went out puddle jumping. Not 10 minutes later Justin shouts down to grab my camera and come see what the kids had done. Mud. They were covered with mud and half naked. Naughty little monkeys. I wanted to get Evelyn's cake smash photos done so just set up the stage for inside instead of out. Her cake looked so darn cute. Only took me 3 cans of frosting! Michelle Rognon came over to help me spot Evelyn and manage her while I worked the camera. Oh my! I am so excited about the results. Can't wait until next week. Amelia wanted to finish smashing the cake since Evelyn did not do much more than eat frosting. I told her no about 4 times. Michelle took the cake upstairs while I cleaned up the baby. Next thing we hear a really good time happening in the dining room. Amelia and Phillip totally smashed the cake. I mean totally. There was greasy frosting and cake on the ceiling, walls, table, chairs, benches, cabinets, not to mention the floor. The culprits sat in the kitchen pounding on my pans making a band. We cleaned until bedtime. Numerous towels, bowls of soapy water, and dustpans of crumbs. Oh the whining! Hey, if you play you PAY. Saturday morning I worked on the floor. It has not been that clean since it was installed. I washed it 7 times with hot water and vinegar until the grease was cleaned up. Phillip had to hand wash a huge pile of dishes as punishment the next day. He had 1 hour to finish his punishment or else his birthday party would be cancelled. He finished with seconds to spare. Amelia had to clean their bedroom by herself, including dusting and vacuuming. She spent 45 minutes of her time crying.

I expected some naughtiness with the new school year starting, the reality was a bit more than I expected. Amelia had a hard time adjusting. She had quite the attitude after school this week. She refused to work on her homework, practice piano, and do her chores. I took her to piano on Thursday. She was so embarrassed to arrive without her written theory done and her pieces practiced. I hope she will get into a groove soon. I forget how much love and patience kids need the first couple weeks of school. It is just as emotionally draining on parents as it is on the kids.

Phillip got to bring home Clark the Shark for the weekend. Clark witnessed the mud incident and the cake incident. I hope we are not setting the standard too high! The other kids must have boring homes.


I was out picking green beans on Friday. Phillip came out to help me with his shirt stuffed with Justin's tools. He had tools stuck in his shirt and tools in his pockets, tools in his shoes. Then he climbed up on the shed roof. He got stuck up there. I left him to stew for a while. He went back up after dinner and got stuck again.